Jeanne Koré Salvato

field notes on a presidential election

field notes on a presidential election

ne feature of living in a foreign country is that you get a glimpse not only of the current political issues but also the larger trends floating around.  I will always remember after Colin Powell presented so called evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq...
the novel and the nightingale

the novel and the nightingale

ot long ago on the radio I heard a solo piano piece called, I thought, “le Rossignol a disparu.”  This means the nightingale has disappeared.  Ah, just like Milan Kundera’s nightingale, I thought, who has also disappeared. The nightingale for him is an image...
politics en France

politics en France

t is no wonder that Samuel Beckett set his play, Waiting for Godot, in the French countryside with a leafless tree and a moon for company.  I believe the two vagabonds wandering around the countryside were on the run from French politics.  France is having its first...
le Petit Prince

le Petit Prince

recently listened to a podcast by writer and teacher Maryama Antoine, called, “Toni Morrison, on the pursuit of goodness.” Ah, that word, “goodness.”  And when I wondered which French text had to do with goodness, I thought of The Little Prince by French...
The City of Good Death

The City of Good Death

he title of the novel The City of Good Death by Priyanka Champaneri already contains an interesting premise to think about:  some cities are better places than others for that universal wish we all hold, to die a good death with no regrets. This is our...
Ukraine2

Ukraine2

he haunting image of a musician playing farewell on her piano to her home that had been bombed by the Russians has chased many other thoughts away. I wanted to appreciate Ukrainian culture now that we are standing in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. ...